Gas-engine base and shaft-bearings therefor.



No. 864,049 PATENTED AUGfZO, 1907. G...E.' TURNER & H. G. ERIGKE. GAS ENGINE BASE AND SHAFT BEARINGS 'IHERE]:"OR.v

APPLICATION FILED APR.3, 1907.

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Affari/019 No. 864,049. PATENTED AUG. 20, 1907. G. E. TURNER & H. 0. FRIGKE. GAS ENGINE BASE AND SHAFT BEARINGS THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' WIT/V555 UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

GEORGE E. TURNER AND HARRY C. FRICKE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO TURNER-FRICKE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OI PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

GAS-ENGINE BASE AND SHAFT-BEARINGS THEREFOR.

No. 864,049. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 20, 1907.

` Application led April 3, 1907. Serial No. 366,204.

To all whom 'it 'may concern: Y placed in engagement with said pillow blocks. It 55 Be it knownthat we, GEORGE E. TURNER and will be seen therefore that the original alinement of HARRY C. FRICKE, citizens of the United States, rethe shaft can be secured by even an unskilled mesiding atPittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and chanic, by placing the shaft in the bearings and forc- State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and ing the lower halves of the bearings upward until the useful Improvements in Gas-Engine Bases and Shaftshaft is forced firmly in contact with the caps, and then 60 Bearings Therefor; and we do hereby'declare the folslacking them minutely, to prevent too great friction, lowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the and it will be apparent further that in case the bearinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art ings or any of them become worn, the perfect alineto which it appertains to make and use the same. ment 'of the shaft and adjustment of the bearings, can

In the manufacture and operation of engines, and be secured by an unskilled mechanic by the same 65 particularly of vertical gas or other explosive engines simple proceeding. of the multi-cylinder. type, much difficulty is expe- Our invention also contemplates certainV details of rienced first in securing the perfect alinement ofthe construction hereinafter described.

crank shaft in the engine base, and second in securing Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1' necessary adjustment of the crank shaft bearings after is a plan view of an engine base for a three cylinder, 70 they have become worn. Where as in almost all high vertical explosive engine, having our present invenpowered explosive engines three or more bearings are tion embodied therein, showing the pillow blocks, the provided for the crank shaft it is naturally difficult to bearings being removed. Fig.. 2 is a vertical longituseeure'their exact alinement, even by the most skilful dinal section of the engine base showing the crankV mechanics, and as these engines ordinarily are proshaft and bearings in position. Fig'. 3 is a vertical 75 vided with a heavy balance wheel on each end of the transverse section of the base on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. crank shaft, the bearings wear unequally so that after Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical transverse section through a time adjustment and re-alinement ofthe same beone of thepillow blocks, its bearing and the crank comes necessary to prevent breaking the crank shafts. shaft. 'Fig 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the In practice we have found that in the use of vertical caps. Fig. v6 is a detail perspective view of one of `the 80 cylinder explosive engines, there is practically no vertically adjustable bearing blocks. Fig. 7 isa detail wear upon the interior bearing surfaces of the caps or. perspective view of one of the wedges which we emupper halves of the crank shaft bearings, as the'weight ploy to adjust the blocks vertically. v

of the shaft, and balance wheels, and the thrust of the Referring to the drawings, A represents the engine pistons upon the crank, act in a downward direction. base which in this instance is formed separatelyfrorn the 85 It, therefore, follows that if the caps or upper halves of crank ease, although it may be formed integrally therethe crank shaft bearings are properly alined they with if desired. The base A is provided with fou'r pilafford an accurate guide for the' original alinement of low blocks A, A2 A3, A4 arranged in position to support the shaft, and for the adjustment and re-alinement of the four bearings forv the crank shaft C. Each of said the bearings when worn. pillow blcks is provided with a rectangular recess a, 90

Having this in mind our invention consists in ceropen at the top and having a bottom face a', lateral tain novel features hereinafter described, reference interior faces a2 a2 and top edges, or faces a3 a, which being had to the 'accompanying drawings which illusare absolutely true, and in alinement lwith each other.

40 trate one form in which wehave contemplated em- This is 'accomplished by placing the engine base on a bodying our invention, and said invention is fully planer or milling machine and dressing the faces a, a2 95 disclosed in the following description and claims. and a3 of all the pillow blocks simultaneously as will be According to our invention, we provide the engine readily understood. v base with a series of pillow blocks,'preferably three or Each pillow block is provided with -a bearingcap B more, which are planed or milled simultaneously so shown in detail Fig. 5, the lateral flanges b of which as to provide surfaces exactly in alinement for the reare planed on their under sides as at b b to fit upon 100 eeption of the caps or upper halves of the bearings the top faces a3 a3 of the pillow block, and are provided which are rigidly clamped to the pillow blocks, and adjacent to the central bearing portion with downto receive a vertically adjustable block'eontaining the wardly extending shoulders, b2 which fit exactly belower half of the bearing, and each pillow block is protween the innerfaces a2 a2 of the pillow blocks, thus vided with means foradjusting the lower'bcaring secdetermining the positions of the caps, and preventing 105 tion or block vertically. The caps and blocks before their lateral displacement. The caps B are rigidly mentioned are then formed, babbitted or bushed and clamped to'the tops of the pillow blocks by bolts b3. bored so as to be absolutely identical, in form, and are i: Each of the pillow blocks is provided with a bearing block D shown in detail Fig. G, in which the lower part of the bearing aperture is formed, said blocks having their opposite faces d d perfectly true and parallel, and the Width of the block D issuch that it fits exactly between the vertical interior faces a,2 a2 of the recess inthe pillow block. The bottom face d of the bearing block is laterally inclined or beveled, to engage the similarly beveled or incliend face e of a wedge E which we ernploy in connection therewith for securing the vertical adustment of the block D.

Each of the wedges E, has a bottom face e, -perpendicular to its lateral edges, for engaging the bottom a of the pillow block recess. The wedge is preferably cast with a central aperture e2, and a threaded aperture extends from each of the lateral edges to said aperture e2, the threaded apertures being indicated at e3 and e4.

F represents an adjusting screw extending through a hole in one side wall of the pillow block recess and engaging the threaded aperture e4 of the wedge, and F/ represents a locking screw extending through the opposite side wall and engaging the threaded aperture e3 of the wedge. Y

The caps B, and blocks D, are babbitted, or bushed in any desired. manner and are bored in such manner that they are absolutely coaxial. This result may be effected by alining the blocks, and caps on a boring machine, and boring them all with a single operation of the boring tool, or it may be accomplished by placing them in a jig or jigs, and boring them separately.

When the parts of the bearings are assembled, the wedges E are placed in the recesses A, so as to allow the blocks D to be placed on top of them in their lowest positions. The crank shaft is then placed in position upon the blocks D and the caps B are bolted in place. In order to prevent the blocks D from working endwise, in the pillow blocks, without interfering with their vertical movements, We drill a hole vertically through each cap B into its corresponding block D, and insert a dowel pin in the one, which extends into the aperture of the other. In this instance the cap B is provided with a dowel b* extending into the dowel aperture d3 in the block D. As the block D is rigidly held from lateral movement by the wallsy of the recess in the pillow block a single dowel is all that is needed. The

parts having been assembled as before described, the workman who need not be a skilled mechanic, sets up the screws F previously slacking off the screws F, if they are in place, thus moving the Wedges E laterally and forcing the blocks D vertically, carrying the shaft with them, until the shaft is forced into engagement with the bearing portions of the cap B, when thewedges cannot be drawn further, the caps serving as stops or guides to limit the point to which the separate bearings can be adjusted or tightened. Each of the screws F is then slacked off exactly the same amount, say a quarter of a turn, to prevent binding the shaft, and the locking screws F are then turned up so as to withdraw the wedges to the extent permitted by the screws F, and lock the wedges, and screws F rigidly against accidental displacement. In this manner the perfect alinement of the crank shaft in its bearing is secured.

After the engine has been run long enough to cause wear in some or all of its bearings, the bearings can be quickly and readily alined by any one, by slacking off the lock screws F, then tightening the wedges by means of the screws F, until each bearing block is forced up as far as it will go, and the shaft is again alined against the bearing portions of caps D, slacking off the screws F equally, as by a quarter turn backward, and then setting up the lock screws F, when the shaft will be in as perfect alinement as when the engine was originally assembled. l

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with an engine base provided with a plurality of pillow blocks, each provided with a central bearing recess open attop and ends, said pillow blocks having their top faces on opposite sides of said recesses, and the vertical walls of said recesses exactly in line, a plurality of bearing caps, each having a central shaft engaging portion, and lateral portions having their lower faces engaging the top faces of said pillow blocks and depending opposite shoulders fitting between the walls of the pillow block recess, the shaft engaging portions of said caps being coaxial, bolts rigidly connecting said caps to said pillow blocks, a bearing block in each of said recesses having parallel plane lateral faces fitted between the walls of said recesses and having shaft engaging portions on,

their upper faces, independent devices connected with each pillow block for adjusting the bearing block thereof vertically said caps and bearing blocks having the one a vertical projection engaging a vertical aperture in the other to prevent the longitudinal movement of said bearing blocks, substantially as described.

2. The combination with an engine base provided with :1

plurality of pillow blockseach provided with a vertically disposed bearing recess open at the top and ends, the top` faces of said pillow blocks on opposite sides of said `recesses and the lateral and bottom faces of said recesses, being exactly in line with each other, a bearing cap for each pillow blpck rigidly secured thereto, and provided with faces engaging the top faces of the pillow block and opposite .shoulders fitting between the lateral faces of its recess, the shaft engaging portions\of said caps being exactly coaxial, vertically movable blocks each having parallel lateral faces litting in the recesses of said pillow blocks between the lateral faces thereof, said blocks having coaxial shaft engaging portions on their upper faces, means for vertically adjusting each ot' said bearing blocks, and a vertical projection extending downwardly from each of said caps, and engaging an aperture in lts adjacent bearing block, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures, in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. TURNER. HARRY C. liRlCKE.

Witnesses .T. C. Romains, BnA'ruicn FITZGERALD. 

